Helping Haruka
by Under-The-Sofa
Summary: It's what family does.


"Evening Haruka," Keitaro said as he entered his Aunt's shop only to see the usually calm shop bustling with customers. Now Keitaro had never seen his Aunt hurry before. She usually had a calm stride, but now she was almost running to and from tables.

"Oh nephew," The woman noticed as her relative entered. She would have stopped to greet him, but continued on by with a tray of empty cups. As she passed a cup fell off the overloaded tray. She rapidly twisted to catch the falling breakable with her free hand, but turned to quickly and sent herself straight toward the ground dropping the tray of glasses in the process.

She closed her eyes and waited for impact, but it didn't come. Felt herself land on something that with a thud. Then heard the glasses shake a little, but not break. She opened her eyes to see what broke the fall of her and her cups. She looked down to she her nephew had jumped under her to not only catch the lone cup, but also her and dropped tray.

Well, she landed unceremoniously on his back and the tray landed on his legs. She got off him then picked up the tray. She helped her nephew up with her free hand, and then reached for the cup in his hands. He shook his head.

"Give me the cup Keitaro." She demanded irritated.

"Okay," he said slowly extending his hand. "I'll give it back to you, only if you let me help you out today."

She huffed, "fine." She took the cup and placed it back on the tray. She entered the kitchen then returned with an apron. She whipped it at his head then said, "Your on dishes and cooking. I usually do it all, but there are to many customers to deal with."

He peeled the cloth from his face and smiled at the usually calm woman. "What's so funny?" She asked agitated.

He tried to hold in his laugher, but failed. He burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, it's just..." He paused to regain his breath. "The look on your face right now." He tied the apron on in between chuckles. "I've never seen you this mad before." He looked his aunt in eyes.

Her scowl softened. "You're just so entertaining, that I forgot to laugh." She gave a small smile before heading back into the main room to assist her customers.

Keitaro walked into the kitchen and went to work cleaning the used glasses. Occasionally Haruka would come in and pour a few fresh cups of tea from the pot. "Thanks," She said quietly before ducking back out to help customers.

'Does she feel embarrassed to have me helping her?' The man thought as he started a new pot of tea. 'It would make sense,' He sighed as he went back to cleaning the used cups that Haruka brought in earlier. 'She's a single and independent woman. I suppose it is because she's been this way for years now.'

He brought a cup out of the water then brought a drying towel to its surface. Sighing, he meticulously wiped the cup down. After a few more minutes of drying he realized that he had finished all the cups. He opened his eyes in slight surprise at the quickness of his job. He shrugged before heading out of the kitchen into the dining room to check on Haruka.

She was moving between customers either making conversation or refilling their cups. The usually stoic woman was actually showing some signs of fatigue. As she turned she stumbled again. Expecting impact with the ground she closed her eyes waiting for the crash.

Yet again, it didn't come. Keitaro had moved in close and caught his aunt around his waist and caught the teakettle. However, he caught the pot of tea by the bottom. His right hand pressed directly against the heated container. The heat directly went to his hand burning him, yet he didn't let go. He grit his teeth and asked the woman in his arms, "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, thanks." Haruka seemed faint. Her eyes slightly closed and her face flush. He finally set the scalding pot down and picked up his aunt. He cringed as his burnt hand made contact with his aunt's body. He took her over to the previously occupied table and set her down.

"You're not alright." He pressed his uninjured had against his aunt's forehead and felt the heat coming off of her. "I'm going to take care of the shop, you just rest Aunt Haruka." She tried to make a swat at him for his 'aunt' comment, but missed by a rather big margin. She almost fell from her miss, but Keitaro caught her again and moved her back into her seat. "No objections." He surprisingly enough gave her a stern look and any defiance she may have had disappeared.

Keitaro stood up then announced, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience." He heard a few grumbles, but disregarded them and moved back to the lonely pot on the floor. He picked it up with his good hand then moved to the nearest table and picked up where his aunt left off.

The man darted from table to table, then back into the kitchen refreshing the pot that he carried in his good hand. On the outer layer of his other hand however, a blister formed. He grimaced at the sting he felt any time something touched his hand.

The worst was when a customer wanted to shake his hand. The man had an iron grip and had clamped down on his hand. He cringed when the contact came. He didn't expect the pain at all. The customer didn't either. He let go and started apologizing profusely.

Keitaro chuckled sheepishly, "It's okay sir." He motioned to his hand. "I didn't know that it was this sensitive. You're not at fault." The other man had actually left a sizeable tip for the accident.

The single man had kept up the service one handed for the last three hours that the teashop was open. He was rather proud of himself. As he cleaned he noticed he was back at the table he left Haruka at.

He looked at her and noticed she had dozed off. Her head lay across her arms, seemingly dead to the world. He noticed her red face. He pressed his good hand against her forehead and felt the heat coming off of it.

He left her to finish closing the shop. It took him another five minutes to clean up the rest of the shop. After he finished he locked the front door, then went back to the table with the resting woman.

He plopped down across from his aunt just looked at her unconscious form. Her breath seemed slightly labored and she looked like she was in some pain. He sighed before he stood up and took ahold of his aunt's sleeping form planning to carry her to her bedroom in the back of her teashop.

As he carried his aunt he noticed how light she was. 'For how hard she could hit I figured she was all muscle.' He stifled the laugh that was coming to his throat. 'If Haruka was all muscle she would have made one crazy amazon woman. She probably would have been able to knocked my head if she would have hit me with her fan.'

He had no issues carrying his aunt into her room. He didn't stumble, or trip like he normally would have. He was actually able to make it to there without tripping at all. A rather impressive feat for himself, but he wasn't one to brag.

He arrived at his Aunt's room then slid the door open. He entered his Aunt's plain room then placed his Aunt's incapacitated form on her bed. Haruka groaned before cracking her eyes open at her jarring motion. "W-what's happening?" She groaned out her head swaying back and forth as she tried to sit up.

"Just rest Aunt Haruka." He pushed her back down gently. "I took care of the shop. You fell asleep at the table." She tried to glare at her nephew, but her impaired form made it backfire. Now instead of being intimidating like usual she looked even more pitiful, like a wet kitten trying to dry off while still in the rain.

Keitaro smiled softly at his aunt before taking a step back. "I'll be right back. You stay put." The man left the room and when he did Haruka looked at her clock. What it read shocked her. It read nine thirty. That meant she had been out for at least five hours.

She smiled softly, 'Stupid nephew, being so selfless. He gave up his free day to help me out.' She couldn't help but be mad yet happy at her nephew's antics. She didn't want to appear helpless in his eyes, but she knew if she didn't have his help today she things would have gone a lot worse.

She just lay there waiting for her nephew to return. She started to hear Keitaro fumbling around downstairs. 'What is he doing?' After a few more minutes of clattering and fumbling around she heard her nephew start to return to her room. He slid the door open with his foot surprisingly and came in with a tray in one hand and a bucket in his injured hand, not that she knew it was in pain.

He laid the nightstand next to her than set the bucket down on the floor. Haruka tried to sit up once again, but this time Keitaro helped her into a sitting position. He then turned on the lamp that was on the nightstand shedding light to the small room. Then he reached for something on the tray, but Haruka noticed something in her haze. She reached out and grasped his right hand. "What happened?"

"It's nothing but a little contact burn. It should be gone in a few days." He tried to get Haruka to let go but she held an iron grip on him her eyes locked on the wound. "Um…Haruka."

"Thank you Keitaro." It almost came out as a whisper. She looked up her face slightly red from embarrassment. "You're a fine young man." She pause looking averting her eyes before saying, "I'm glad that I have you for a nephew."

Keitaro was slightly taken back by what his Aunt had said. It was one of the kindest things his usually stoic aunt had said. He laid hand good hand on his aunt's shoulder drawing her eyes back to his and said, "I want you to know I will be there for you whenever you need my help."

He looked away for a second to gather her courage before she spoke. "You don't have to help me out. I can get by on my own."

"You don't seem to get it Aunt Haruka." Keitaro laughed. "That's what family is for. Too be there for each other when they need it." He stood and wrung out the cloth in the bucket before placing it on her hot forehead. "We don't do it because we fell like we have to. We do it because we want to." He reached over and took the glass of water on the tray and handed it to her. "We want our family to be okay, because if we don't take care of our family. How could ever care about anyone else?"

Haruka took the glass and emptied in contents in one go. She thought about the words her nephew had spoken. Just before she spoke he said one last thing. "Even when the world around you seems like it's crumbling, you'll always have your family."


End file.
